Influence of Fe-rich intermetallics on solidification defects in Al–Si–Cu alloys

To better understand the influence of Fe-rich intermetallics on solidification defect formation, fast in situ synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy experiments were performed on a commercial A319 alloy (Al–7.5Si–3.5Cu, wt.%) with 0.2 and 0.6wt.% Fe. Real-time observations during solidification and semi-solid deformation experiments reveal that β-intermetallics contribute via several different mechanisms to porosity formation and hot tearing …